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                    <h1>
                        News For Use</h1>
                    <p>
                        <h2>
                            The Signature of God - Startling Archeological Discoveries</h2>
                    </p>
                    <p>
                        Can we trust the Bible? The answer is an overwhelming YES! The reason for this confident
                        statement is that for the past one hundred and fifty years many brilliant scholars
                        have conducted detailed archeological examinations at thousands of sites throughout
                        the Middle East. The results of their discoveries have proven that the Bible is
                        reliable and accurate in every single area where its statements could be tested.
                        In the balance of this chapter I will share some of the wonderful archeological
                        discoveries that provide tremendous proof that the Bible is a true and accurate
                        record of past events in ancient Israel.
                    </p>
                    <p>
                        Throughout most of the last two thousand years, the majority of men living in the
                        western world have accepted the statements of the Scriptures as genuine. However,
                        beginning with the higher critical school of biblical critics in Germany and England
                        in the nineteenth century we have witnessed a progressive abandonment of the historic
                        faith in the Word of God. While European seminaries gradually abandoned the authority
                        of the Scriptures, North American seminaries and Bible colleges still upheld the
                        accuracy of the Bible to some degree. In the 1960s most North American seminaries
                        still accepted the basic records of the Old and New Testaments as being historically
                        true. However, in the following decades there occurred a wholesale abandonment of
                        belief in the historical accuracy of the Bible. The attitudes behind these attacks
                        on biblical accuracy and authority were those of complete rejection of God's inspiration
                        of the Scriptures. In addition, many critics approach the Bible with an attitude
                        of outright denial of supernatural events, such as miracles, and biblical prophecy.
                        To these unbelieving critics, the presence of a miracle or prophecy in a biblical
                        text was absolute proof that it was not genuine. Critics rejected the possibility
                        of inspiration, miracles, and prophecy before they began their examination of the
                        evidence.</p>
                    <p>
                        Despite the overwhelming success unbelieving critics have had in establishing their
                        unbelieving attitudes within the seminaries, textbooks, and popular media, something
                        strange began to occur. The new discoveries by archeologists digging at sites in
                        the Middle East continued to produce fascinating finds that contradicted their attitudes.
                        Every new discovery in Israel and the surrounding nations provided tremendous confirmation
                        of the accuracy of the Word of God in incredible ways. As a result of these continuing
                        discoveries, Dr. Nelson Glueck, the most outstanding Jewish archeologist of this
                        century, wrote in his book, Rivers in the Desert, this fascinating statement. "It
                        may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted
                        a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm
                        in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And by the
                        same token, proper evaluation of Biblical descriptions has often led to amazing
                        discoveries. They form tesserae in the vast mosaic of the Bible's almost incredibly
                        correct historical memory" (Dr. Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert [New York, Grove,
                        1960], p. 31).</p>
                    <p>
                        In confirmation of Dr. Glueck's statement, another respected scholar, Dr. J. O.
                        Kinnaman, declared: "Of the hundreds of thousands of artifacts found by the archeologists,
                        not one has ever been discovered that contradicts or denies one word, phrase, clause,
                        or sentence of the Bible, but always confirms and verifies the facts of the biblical
                        record." The well-known language scholar, Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, formerly professor
                        of Semitic philology at Princeton Theological Seminary, made the following comment,
                        "After forty-five years of scholarly research in biblical textual studies and in
                        language study, I have come now to the conviction that no man knows enough to assail
                        the truthfulness of the Old Testament. When there is sufficient documentary evidence
                        to make an investigation, the statement of the Bible, in the original text, has
                        stood the test" (Dr. Robert Dick Wilson, Speaker's Source Book, p. 391).</p>
                    <p>
                        The Bible claims that it is the inspired and accurate Word of God. Therefore, it
                        is vital that we compare the Scriptural records against the archeological discoveries
                        uncovered at actual sites where many of the thrilling events of the Bible actually
                        occurred. The results of these detailed investigations are available for anyone
                        to examine. The archeological record provides overwhelming confirmation of thousands
                        of detailed statements and facts recorded in the sacred Scriptures. Scholars have
                        not found one single confirmed archeological discovery that absolutely disproves
                        a statement of the Scriptures. To the contrary, as the evidence in The Signature
                        of God reveals, the scholars have discovered literally hundreds of objects, inscriptions,
                        and sites that confirm the accuracy of biblical statements in even unimportant areas.
                        The most important thing for believers in God is that these archeological proofs
                        of scriptural accuracy confirm the accuracy, the inspiration, and the authority
                        of the Word of God. No one should expect that archeology will be able to provide
                        detailed proof of such personal events like the sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. By
                        their nature, it is unlikely that such events in the lives of private individuals
                        would ever leave any archeological evidence. Most personal events recorded in the
                        Bible would never have left evidence that could be discovered thousands of years
                        later. However, whenever the Bible dealt with the rise and fall of kingdoms, cities,
                        buildings, etc., the spade of the archeologist has been able to discover wonderful
                        confirmation of the truth of Holy Scripture.</p>
                    <p>
                        Only fifty years ago many disbelieving scholars totally rejected the historical
                        accuracy of the Bible because they claimed that the Scriptures talked about numerous
                        kings and individuals that could not be confirmed from any other historical or archeological
                        records. Recent discoveries, however, have shown that they should not have abandoned
                        their faith in the Word of God so easily. If they had only trusted in the truthfulness
                        of the Bible or waited a little longer they would have been rewarded with the recent
                        archeological discoveries that confirm many biblical details, events, and personalities.
                        For example, many scholars contemptuously reject the Bible's statements about King
                        David. Many textbooks used in universities and seminaries openly reject any historical
                        statements in the Scriptures about King David or Solomon. They believe that David
                        is a myth or literary fiction. Examples of this approach include the books In Search
                        of Ancient Israel, by Philip R. Davis, and the Early History of the Israelite People,
                        by Thomas L. Thompson. He wrote, "The existence of the Bible's 'United Monarchy'
                        during the tenth-century [B.C.] is . . . impossible" (Thomas L. Thompson, Early
                        History of the Israelite People, [Brill: 1992]). These so-called "minimalist" scholars
                        accept only the minimum about the Bible, rejecting every biblical statement unless
                        it can be established by other non-biblical evidence.</p>
                    <p>
                        This is a totally biased position and would be ridiculed in any other area of study.
                        Imagine a student of Plato's Greek philosophy that rejected outright any statement
                        by Plato himself, his followers, or any Greek philosophical writer in later years
                        who quoted him favorably. This is an absurd way to approach the study of any subject.
                        Yet many biblical scholars in the secular universities take this "minimalist" approach
                        today. The rational way to study ancient history is to carefully examine every bit
                        of evidence regarding a personality or event from both those who support and those
                        who oppose the particular subject. The true scholar will then carefully weigh the
                        evidence of all sources and come to a balanced conclusion based on the facts.</p>
                    <h3>
                        The House of David</h3>
                    <p>
                        Recent archeological investigations have demolished the position of those who rejected
                        the biblical account of Israel's kings such as King David. In 1993, archeologists
                        digging at Tel Dan in the Galilee in northern Israel found a fragment of a stone
                        inscription that clearly refers to the "house of David" and identifies David as
                        the "king of Israel." This is the first inscription outside the Bible that confirms
                        the Bible's statement that David was the king of Israel in the ninth century before
                        Christ. Many Bible critics who had rejected King David as a myth were upset to discover
                        their position could no longer be defended. Some critics suggested that the fragment
                        was a "fake." The following summer, two additional fragments of the original inscription
                        were found that provided scholars with the whole inscription, confirming that it
                        referred to David as king of Israel. Furthermore, another scholar, Andre Lemaire
                        from the College de France, discovered another ninth century B.C. stone inscription
                        created by King Mesha of Moab that also referred to "the House of David." These
                        incredible inscriptions, recorded a century after David's death, confirm that David
                        was king of Israel at the time the Bible stated and that he established a dynasty,
                        the "House of David" as the Scriptures said.<br />
                        A stone inscription from Egypt confirms that Israel was established as a nation
                        in Canaan centuries before the reign of King David, just as the Bible claims. The
                        Merneptah Stela is a seven-and-a-half-foot-high stone inscription discovered in
                        the temple of Pharaoh Merneptah at Thebes in Egypt. Scholars determined that Pharaoh
                        Merneptah ruled Egypt from 1213 to 1203 B.C. and confirmed that he launched an invasion
                        into the area of the modern-day West Bank in Canaan, defeating the Jewish inhabitants
                        of the land. The second line from the bottom of this inscriptions boasts, "Israel
                        is laid waste; his seed is not."<br />
                        Critics of the Bible have claimed for decades that the Bible's statements in Joshua
                        about the conquest of the Promised Land in the centuries before the monarchy of
                        King David were pure fiction. Obviously, the king of Egypt would not need to invade
                        Canaan with an army unless the Jews had established a significant presence on the
                        frontiers of the Egyptian Empire. In light of this new archeological evidence critics
                        will be forced to relinquish their rejection of the Bible's record of Israel's conquest
                        as stated by Joshua. Critics claimed that the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles
                        were recorded by Jews living in Persia centuries after the events occurred. They
                        suggest that such records contain numerous errors and myths. However, the Bible
                        claims these books were written at the time of the events and that God's Holy Spirit
                        inspired the writers to correctly record the events. When you compare the Word of
                        God to the accuracy of the ancient historians such as Herodotus, you can quickly
                        see that most ancient histories were nothing more than creative fiction and records
                        of hearsay evidence without careful research or checking of facts. In stark contrast,
                        the Bible is extremely careful and accurate as to events, chronology, sequence,
                        and personalities.<br />
                        In addition to the archeological evidence for King David, we now have confirmation
                        of other kings of Israel. The name of Omri, king of Israel, is recorded on an inscription
                        known as the Stela of King Mesha of Moab. In addition, Omri's name appears on the
                        rock inscriptions of three kings of Assyria, the annals of both Tiglath-Pileser
                        III and Sargon II, and the Black Obelisk of King Shalmaneser III, who wrote, "I
                        conquered . . . all of the Land of Omri (Israel)." Other Assyrian inscriptions found
                        in Nineveh confirm the Bible's records about these kings of Israel: Ahab, Jehu,
                        Joash, Menehem, Pekah, and Hoshea. In addition, the names of many of the kings of
                        the southern kingdom of Judah are also recorded on inscriptions of the nations that
                        fought against the Jews. The inscriptions found by archeologists also confirm the
                        names of these kings of Judah: Ahaziah, Uzziah, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Jehoiachin.
                        Scholars found ration records of the army of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (606
                        to 562 B.C.) that state, "ten sila of oil to Jehoiachin, king of Judah. . . ." Obviously,
                        the fact that these foreign nations listed the kings of Israel and Judah provides
                        the strongest evidence confirming the accuracy of the Word of God.<br />
                        In 1846, the explorer Austen Henry Layard discovered an incredible Black Obelisk
                        in the ruins of Nimrud (present-day Iraq), the ancient capital of the great Assyrian
                        Empire that conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. This six-and-a-half-feet-high
                        Black Obelisk, a four-sided stone inscription, recorded the conquest of the Assyrian
                        King Shalmaneser II over numerous foreign kingdoms including King Jehu of Israel
                        (approximately 841 to 814 B.C.). A detailed examination of the obelisk reveals King
                        Jehu bowing down in obedience to the Assyrian king. The obelisk refers to Jehu as
                        the "son of Omri" indicating their awareness that his dynasty traced back to Omri
                        in confirmation of the Book of Kings.</p>
                    <h3>
                        The Walls of Jericho</h3>
                    <p>
                        During excavations of Jericho between 1930 and 1936, Professor John Garstang found
                        one of the most incredible confirmations of the biblical record about the conquest
                        of the Promised Land. The results were so amazing that he took the precaution of
                        preparing a written declaration of the archeological discovery, signed by himself
                        and two other members of his team. "As to the main fact, then, there remains no
                        doubt: the walls fell outwards so completely that the attackers would be able to
                        clamber up and over their ruins into the city." This fact is important because the
                        evidence from all other archeological digs around ancient cities in the Middle East
                        reveal that walls of cities always fall inwards as invading armies push their way
                        into a city. However, in the account in Joshua 6:20, we read, "the wall fell down
                        flat, so that the people went up into the city every man straight ahead, and they
                        took the city." Only the supernatural power of God could have caused the walls to
                        fall outward as described in Joshua's account of the conquest of Jericho (John Garstang,
                        Joshua Judges, [London: Constable, 1931]).<br />
                        Following the fall of East Jerusalem to the Jordanians in the 1948 War of Independence,
                        the Jordanian army dynamited Jewish synagogues and other buildings in the Jewish
                        Quarter of Jerusalem in the years following their conquering of the Old City. Nevertheless,
                        this wanton destruction over a twenty-year period, until Jerusalem was liberated
                        during the 1967 Six Day War, created a unique archeological opportunity. When the
                        Jews recaptured the Jewish Quarter in 1967 they had to rebuild every building because
                        of the Jordanian destruction. However, this made it possible for Israeli archeologists
                        to remove the rubble built up over the last two thousand years and explore the bedrock
                        of this fascinating biblical city. This was a unique opportunity because the existing
                        modern buildings in most ancient cities prevent large archeological exploration.
                        In addition to numerous discoveries confirming the accuracy of many passages in
                        the Bible, the scholars, under the leadership of the archeologist Nahman Avigad
                        of Hebrew University, found the remains of the wall of King Hezekiah built when
                        the Assyrian army attacked Israel in 701 B.C. The Bible tells us that King Hezekiah
                        built the walls of Jerusalem to resist the Assyrian armies: "And when Hezekiah saw
                        that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
                        He took counsel with his princes . . . they did help him. Also he strengthened himself,
                        and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another
                        wall without" (2 Chronicles 32:2-5). The archeologists found that portions of the
                        wall actually cut through walls of recently built houses, indicating the urgency
                        of the defensive actions and the authority of the king. This is confirmed in the
                        Bible's own account, "And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses
                        have ye broken down to fortify the wall" (Isaiah 22:10).<br />
                        Dr. Millar Burrows, a professor at Yale University, studied the evidence that indicates
                        the historicity of Abraham and the other patriarchs of Israel as recorded in Genesis.
                        "Everything indicates that here we have an historical individual. As noted above,
                        he is not mentioned in any known archaeological source, but his name appears in
                        Babylonia as a personal name in the very period to which he belongs" (Millar Burrows,
                        What Mean These Stones?, [New York: Meridian Books, 1956], pp. 258-259). Burrows
                        wrote about the underlying reason most scholars reject the authority of the Bible,
                        "The excessive skepticism of many liberal theologians stems not from a careful evaluation
                        of the available data, but from an enormous predisposition against the supernatural.
                        . . . On the whole, however, archaeological work has unquestionably strengthened
                        confidence in the reliability of the scriptural record."</p>
                    <h3>
                        The Discovery of the Seals of Biblical Personalities</h3>
                    <p>
                        One of the most interesting discoveries in recent years was the finding of two bull',
                        or clay seals, that bear the impression of the actual seal used by Baruch, the scribe
                        of Jeremiah the prophet who transcribed the Book of Jeremiah. Both bull' bear the
                        inscription, "Belonging to Berekhyahu, son of Neriyahu, the Scribe." One of these
                        clay seals is on view in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. However, the second bull'
                        was found in Jerusalem earlier in this century and purchased by collector Shlomo
                        Moussaieff of London who owns the greatest private collection of ancient Jewish
                        inscriptions in the world. This second clay seal, bearing the same inscription,
                        also reveals a fingerprint that probably belonged to Baruch.<br />
                        At the beginning of this century a fascinating seal was discovered in Israel that
                        bore an inscription of a beautiful lion and the words, "Belonging to Shema servant
                        of Jeroboam." This amazing find indicates that it belonged to an official of King
                        Jeroboam of Israel. Other seals have been discovered confirming the biblical records
                        about King Uzziah (777 to 736 B.C.) and King Hezekiah (726 to 697 B.C.).<br />
                        Another important seal found in Jerusalem dates from the seventh century before
                        Christ and is inscribed as follows: "Belonging to Abdi Servant of Hoshea." This
                        seal made of orange chalcedony, used to authenticate royal documents for security,
                        belonged to Abdi, a high official of King Hosea, the last king of the northern kingdom
                        of Israel before it was conquered by the Assyrian Empire in 721 B.C. Another large
                        seal on red limestone was found bearing the inscription "Belonging to Asayahu, servant
                        of the king" together with a galloping horse. The name "Asaiah" is a short form
                        of the name "Asayahu."ÿThis name occurs twice in the Old Testament in connection
                        with the title "servant of the king." In 2 Chronicles 34:20 we find the name, "Asaiah
                        a servant of the king's" and again in 2 Kings 22:12, "Asahiah a servant of the king's."
                        It is possible that this seal was owned by "Asaiah, the servant of the king" a high
                        court official who was sent by King Josiah to carefully examine the scroll of the
                        lost Book of Deuteronomy that was found in the Temple by the High Priest Hilkiah
                        in approximately 622 B.C.<br />
                        Dr. Henry M. Morris concluded his in-depth study of the archeological evidence concerning
                        the Bible with these words. "Problems still exist, of course, in the complete harmonization
                        of archaeological material with the Bible, but none so serious as not to bear real
                        promise of imminent solution through further investigation. It must be extremely
                        significant that, in view of the great mass of corroborative evidence regarding
                        the Biblical history of these periods, there exists today not one unquestionable
                        find of archaeology that proves the Bible to be in error at any point" (Henry M.
                        Morris, The Bible and Modern Science, [Chicago:ÿMoody Press, 1956]).<br />
                        Explorers in Iraq in the last century found the ancient inscribed clay cylinder
                        bearing the actual decree of King Cyrus of Persia allowing the various captured
                        natives of many different nations to return freely to their ancient homelands. It
                        was the government policy of the preceding Babylonian Empire of King Nebuchadnezzar
                        to displace whole peoples such as the Jews and resettle them in the far reaches
                        of their empire. However, King Cyrus of Persia, a moderate and God-fearing monarch,
                        reversed the cruel Babylonian policy. Immediately after conquering the Babylonian
                        Empire, King Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to freely return to their homeland
                        in Israel ending the seventy-year-long captivity. The decree of King Cyrus began
                        with these words, "I am Cyrus, king of the world, great king." After describing
                        his conquests and deeds, the cylinder inscription reads, "I gathered all their former
                        inhabitants and returned to them their habitations." In this incredible discovery
                        we find the confirmation of one of the most astonishing events in the pages of Scripture.
                        "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the
                        mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king
                        of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also
                        in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath
                        given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house
                        at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God
                        be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house
                        of the Lord God of Israel, he is the God, which is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:1-3).</p>
                    <h3>
                        The Archeological Evidence of the New Testament</h3>
                    <p>
                        Obviously, the entire basis for the faith and hope of Christians depends on the
                        truthfulness of the historical records of the New Testament. Our hope for heaven
                        and salvation itself depends on the accuracy of the words of Jesus of Nazareth and
                        the apostles as recorded in the pages of the New Testament manuscripts. It is significant
                        that there is a relentless attack on the reliability of the Gospels and the Epistles
                        because those who hate the Bible understand that if they can cause men to doubt
                        the New Testament, then their faith will be immeasurably weakened. Fortunately,
                        the continued archeological discoveries during the last century have provided an
                        awesome amount of further evidence that confirms the total reliability of the written
                        documents that form the foundation of the Christian faith.<br />
                        The English scholar, William Ramsay, traveled as a young man to Asia Minor over
                        a century ago for the sole purpose of disproving the Bible's history as described
                        by Luke in his Gospel and in the Book of Acts. Ramsay and his professors were convinced
                        that the New Testament record must be terribly inaccurate. He believed that Luke
                        could not be correct in his history of Christ or in his account about the growth
                        of the Church during the first decades following Christ. Dr. Ramsay began to dig
                        in the ancient ruins of sites throughout Greece and Asia Minor, searching for ancient
                        names, boundary markers, and other archeological finds that would conclusively prove
                        that Luke had invented his history of Christ and His Church. To his amazement and
                        dismay, William Ramsay discovered that the statements of the New Testament Scriptures
                        were accurate in the smallest detail. Finally, Dr. Ramsay was convinced by the overwhelming
                        evidence proving the Bible's accuracy. As a result, he accepted Jesus Christ as
                        His personal Savior. He became both a Christian and a great biblical scholar. As
                        a result of his conversion to belief in Jesus Christ, Sir William Ramsay's books
                        became classics in the study of the history of the New Testament. Another great
                        scholar, A. N. Sherwin-White, was a great classical historical scholar at Oxford
                        University who studied the extensive evidence for and against the historical accuracy
                        of the Book of Acts. Sherwin-White wrote his conclusion after studying the evidence,
                        "For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming . . . any attempt to reject
                        its basic historicity even in matters of detail must now appear absurd" (Quoted
                        by Rubel Shelley, Prepare To Answer [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990]).<br />
                        Dr. William F. Albright was unquestionably one of the world's most brilliant biblical
                        archeologists. In 1955 he wrote: "We can already say emphatically that there is
                        no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after circa A.D.
                        80." However, additional discoveries over the next decade convinced him that all
                        the books in the New Testament were written "probably sometime between circa A.D.
                        50 and 75." Significantly, Albright concluded that the writing of the New Testament
                        within a few years of the events it described made it almost impossible that errors
                        or exaggeration could have entered the text. He wrote that the duration between
                        the events of Christ's life and the writing was "too slight to permit any appreciable
                        corruption of the essential center and even of the specific wording of the sayings
                        of Jesus." In other words, Professor Albright, one of the greatest minds in the
                        field of archeology and ancient texts, concluded that the New Testament records
                        the truth about Jesus Christ and his statements.<br />
                        Dr. John A. T. Robinson was a distinguished lecturer at Trinity College, Cambridge
                        and developed a reputation as a great scholar. Naturally, he accepted the academic
                        consensus universally held since 1900, that denied the disciples and Paul wrote
                        the New Testament and concluded that it was written up to a hundred years after
                        Christ. However, an article in Time magazine, March 21, 1977, reported that Robinson
                        decided to personally investigate for himself the arguments behind this scholarly
                        consensus against the New Testament's reliability because he realized that very
                        little original research had been completed in this field in this century. He was
                        shocked to discover that much of past scholarship against the New Testament was
                        untenable because it was based on a "tyranny of unexamined assumptions" and what
                        he felt must have been an "almost willful blindness." To the amazement of his university
                        colleagues, Robinson concluded that the apostles must have been the genuine writers
                        of the New Testament books in the years prior to A.D. 64. He challenged other scholars
                        to complete original research necessary to truly examine the question fairly. As
                        a result of such a new analysis Robinson believed that it would necessitate "the
                        rewriting of many introductions to-and ultimately, theologies of-the New Testament."
                        Robinson's book, Redating the New Testament, published in 1976, suggests that Matthew's
                        Gospel was written as early as A.D. 40, within eight years of Christ.</p>
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